KOLHAPUR: The flood and deluge in Sangli city could not stop two young lovers — Rohit and Sonali — from getting married on July 26. Their boat trip through the flooded Gavbhag locality of the city has now become the talk of the town. For many, the sight of the young couple celebrating a joyous occasion acted as a balm to soothe the frayed nerves.
The couple’s muhurtmed (a pre-wedding ritual) was held on July 23. As per the tradition, once the muhurtmed is held, then the wedding too must take place on the fixed date. However, the Sangli city got flooded on the night of July 23.
Rohit Suryawanshi told TOI: “Earlier, we had picked a wedding hall near my house. However, when the floodwater started entering many localities, evacuated people had to be relocated to the wedding hall. Since our muhurtmed was done, we had to proceed with the wedding anyhow. Therefore, we decided to get marry at Sonali’s house with just a few guests. For the wedding, I left with few close relatives on a boat. As the bride’s gruhapravesh and varaat (the trip to bring the bride to her marital home) are important steps, we decided to take the boat back home too.”
Rohit, who runs a salon, added: “We had planned a grand wedding with Covid-appropriate measures. The date was fixed much in advance and we had finished all the preparations and shopping. Usually, we have a grand procession after the wedding to take the bride home. However, most out plans had to be set aside. But we did not want to postpone the wedding date.”
Rohit said his house is located at an elevation, but it was surrounded by floodwater. Now the water has started receding. Rohit said though he missed all the craziness of band-baaja, the boat ride will always be a special memory.
